Lionel Messi talks time at Paris St. Germain on his 36th birthday

Even on his 36th birthday, Lionel Messi was in demand as a footballer. In Maxi Rodriguez’s farewell game with Argentina against Newell’s Old Boys in his hometown of Rosario on Saturday, the world champion captain scored three times and was once again the star of the evening. The 42,000 fans celebrated “La Pulga” with an impressive light and laser show and a birthday song. “Thank you for the congratulations,” Messi told his 475 million followers via Instagram.

In the land of unlimited opportunities, the South American wants to forget two less successful years in club football with Paris St. Germain. As is well known, the exceptional talent has opened a new chapter in his career from the new season and will play for Inter Miami in the North American professional league Major League Soccer (MLS) – incidentally with his long-time Barca buddy Sergio Busquets, who also signed on with the Florida club .

“First it was great…”

Meanwhile, in an interview with beIN Sports, Messi gave an insight into his inner life during the two-year mixed spell at PSG. Argentina’s superstar rated the elimination in the Champions League in 2022 against Real Madrid and in 2023 against Bayern Munich as “a very big disappointment”.

At the same time, Messi felt rejection from parts of the PSG fan base, especially towards the end, who whistled and booed him. “It was great at first, I got a lot of encouragement,” said the long-time exception of FC Barcelona, ​​who tearfully announced his departure from Barca and his move to the Seine in 2021: “But lately, part of the Parisian public treated me differently. There was a rupture.”

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The decision for PSG was made “because I liked the club. I had a lot of friends in the cabin there. It seemed like the right decision to go there, even though I had other offers,” Messi said. But the adaptation “was more difficult than expected”, especially due to “a different way of playing, new teammates, a new environment”.

The move from Barcelona to Paris was not easy for his family either, although PSG was peppered with exceptional talents such as Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Donnarumma. Added to this was his Covid-19 illness in the winter of his first season at PSG: “It took a long time for me to get back in shape physically.”

His second season went much better for him at the beginning, although he showed his best form in November and December 2022 at the World Cup in Qatar. At the same time, “the World Cup also influenced the results in the championship and in the Champions League,” stressed Messi. Conclusion of his Paris interlude: “I’m lucky to have won everything, and that will remain the case at the end of my career.”